


Everything will Work Out

by Nameless_Toast_Machine



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Depression, Lazytown AU, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Police Officer!Íþróttaálfurinn, fitness instructor!Sportacus, mild depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-04-19 10:35:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nameless_Toast_Machine/pseuds/Nameless_Toast_Machine
Summary: Robbie has no choice but to take a class with a fitness instructor when he is thrown out of the house by his cousin's husband.Some may consider this rated teen but I'm just being careful. It does reference some adult things even if I don't actually describe it and I will be addressing some pretty heavy issues.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for helping with the title to some of the Sportarobbie people on kik.  
> Yes, it's a pun. I did my best ^^;  
> Also, I finally manged to log back into my tumblr and may start actually using it a little.  
> Feel free to contact me there at https://namelesstoast.tumblr.com/  
> I've been bored and maybe we can chat or even RP.  
> This fandom is really dead and I'm really lonely.

               Robbie Rotten had been unproductive for almost a year now, and had been miserable for about a decade. He didn’t have any friends after graduating from high school. He lost every job that he managed to get, either because he was unlucky or someone didn’t like his attitude. Eventually, he ended up getting taken in by his cousin and his cousin’s husband,  and that’s when his unproductiveness began.

               Robbie originally said that he would only stay with them until he landed himself another job, but that just never seemed to happen. Days became weeks and weeks became months. He just didn’t feel like he could do anything anymore. He didn’t like other people and he was tired.

               Now he was still here, lying on their couch in his pajamas and watching reruns of old shows that he used to watch all the time. His cousin’s husband came up and crossed his arms at him. He had been fed up with him for a while now.

               The man’s name was Íþróttaálfurinn. He worked as a police officer, and a in Robbie’s opinion he took everything way too seriously. It was a mystery why his cousin, Glanni, ever wanted to marry this guy. They were like complete opposites for one thing. Íþróttaálfurinn was a law enforcer and Glanni couldn’t care less about any laws. He just did what he felt like doing.

               Apparently, they somehow got together after Íþróttaálfurinn arrested Glanni. He stole a lot of stuff for a while when he found himself jobless like Robbie a few years back. Robbie still didn't understand it. 

-

               Íþróttaálfurinn continued to block Robbie's view of the television as he began to go on about how Robbie should get up and go outside for once.

               “Glanni, can you please tell your jerk husband to mind his own business?” Robbie asked, calling to his cousin who was also in the room, looking over some magazine. “I’m living here because I asked you, not because I asked him. If he has such a problem with me being here, he should at least discuss it with you before he gets on my case.” He was confident that Glanni wouldn’t let Íþróttaálfurinn make him change his ways.

               But to Robbie’s surprise, the response that Glanni gave him was not the one that he wanted, “Well, I’ve started to think that maybe Íþró’s right about this, hon. He's not telling you to move out and it has been a pretty long time since you last went outside. You should try to make some friends.”

               Íþróttaálfurinn gave Robbie a smug look, “See? If he’s telling you too it must be serious. This has gone on for too long.”

               Robbie didn’t understand. Glanni was usually on his cousin’s side in this sort of situation. He usually spoiled him with sweets and let him do what he wanted! That sneaky Íþróttaálfurinn must have said something and somehow convinced him to switch sides!

               “You two just want me out of the house so you can have your disgusting, loud sex!” Robbie accused.

               Both Glanni and Íþró looked shocked by what he had said.

               Íþróttaálfurinn glared at Robbie. “That is not true! How dare you say such a thing when we are both trying to look out for you?!”

               “Oh, right!” Robbie spat, “My bad! That couldn’t be the case because you already have hardcore sex anyway, regardless of me being in the house!”

               Íþróttaálfurinn’s face was turning red now. Glanni was blushing too but more out of embarrassment than anger.

               “What do you want me to do anyway?” Robbie growled in annoyance, looking away from the red-faced officer. “Are you saying that I should just get a job and start talking to people all of the sudden? Like that should be easy for me, right?” He snorted. Íþróttaálfurinn just never understood him. Heck, not even Robbie himself really got why he couldn’t just snap out of it and start living through life properly again.

               The off-duty cop went on, continuing to police Robbie’s lifestyle.

              “I don’t care what you choose but you can’t just stay here and lay around on the couch all day. I won’t tell you to work right away when you’re clearly struggling socially. Why don’t you take a class? Isn’t there something that interests you? Sports? Cooking? Some sort of art?”

               “No, no and no.” Robbie said stubbornly, crossing his arms. “None of those things interest me at all.”

               “Well then, I guess I’m just going to have to choose for you then, Robbie. I already told you I’m not going to let you just lay around home anymore.”

               Robbie grumbled to himself. This really wasn’t how he planned his afternoon to go. He turned away as Íþró finally seemed like he was done bothering him. Hopefully this topic wouldn’t come up again and he would just leave him alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie is dropped off at the gym to take a fitness class.  
> As usual, please feel free to tell me if i made any mistakes or inconsistencies.

               Robbie didn’t want to get out of the car when it stopped in front of a gym. It took a lot of convincing and just flat-out yelling to get him in the damn thing in the first place. He definitely did not want to be here. He did not agree with this little ‘plan’ that Íþróttaálfurinn made for him.

               The plan was that Glanni and Íþróttaálfurinn were going to go out on a date while Robbie took a stupid fitness class twice a week. Of course Íþróttaálfurinn had picked the class out for him. The last thing Robbie wanted to do was anything fitness-related. Glanni and Íþró weren’t even allowed to come back to pick him up until the class was over according to this plan. He had tried to get out it but no matter how many times he begged them for one more day of just being lazy, he couldn’t get them to change their decision.

               Robbie reluctantly exited the vehicle after he had felt the married couple’s expectant gaze on him for long enough. He frowned as he looked at the giant building.

               “You’re going to be fine, Robbie.” Glanni said, “I’m really proud of you.”

               Íþróttaálfurinn gave him his best reassuring look too, “In a few years you’ll look back on this and be thankful that we made you do this.”

               Robbie seriously doubted that. He slowly walked inside the building after his ride had driven away.

-

               Robbie spent some time looking around for his class. Supposedly, it was going to be taught by Íþróttaálfurinn’s brother, who Robbie had never even met or seen before.

               He started to get lost in the giant building for a while and couldn’t muster up the courage to ask someone where the room was. Great, now he would be late. How embarrassing.

               He finally figured it out and opened the door to the room. By then everyone was already finishing up warmup stretches. Robbie carefully closed the door behind himself.

               There was one guy that was standing while facing everyone else in the front of the room. Robbie knew that he was probably Íþró’s brother. He looked up and noticed Robbie, smiling at him.

               Damn, this guy was pretty cute. Well, he actually looked pretty similar to Íþróttaálfurinn. He even had the same ridiculous pointy mustache and wore a beanie with his hair poking out from the back as Íþró sometimes did when he was off duty. But he was attractive.

               Robbie never really felt attracted to Íþróttaálfurinn at all, even if he was a kind of handsome guy. Maybe it was because he knew that Íþró belonged to his cousin and was off-limits. Or maybe it was because the damn cop was always bothering Robbie about being active! Íþróttaálfurinn pretty much never had anything positive to say to him.

               The fitness instructor seemed different though, at least so far. His smile was sweet and cheerful, and Robbie had never seen that kind of gentile smile from his cousin’s husband.

                 Íþróttaálfurinn’s brother stopped the warm up exercises and told everyone that he would be right back. He approached Robbie and said,“Hi, I’m Sportacus!” as he extended an arm out to Robbie.

               Robbie took his hand and held it awkwardly for a few seconds, forgetting to shake it. His tank top made his muscular arms so visible that it was distracting. Sportacus’ handshake was firm and confident while Robbie’s was limp and.... not.

               Luckily, Sportacus didn’t seem to mind. “You must be Robbie!” he said, “My brother has told me many things about you!”

               Robbie’s face heat up. Oh God, why couldn't that stupid cop jus keep his mouth shut? He didn’t even know what Íþróttaálfurinn said and he still felt embarrassed. He knew that it  couldn’t be anything good coming from that guy.

               “Y-Yeah, I’m Robbie.” Robbie managed to say. “Sorry I’m late.”

               “That’s okay.” Sportacus told him. “It’s a pretty big building. I hope you didn’t get lost.”

               “N-No! I was…I was fine.”  Robbie murmured, not entirely sure why he just lied. It just sort of slipped out. He was so nervous. There were so many people in the room and Sportacus was so friendly and so close. He felt like he might pass out. It had been so long that he hadn’t even realized that he had developed this fear of being around strangers but apparently he had.

               Sportacus tilted his head a bit, still keeping his smile. “Oh? Well whatever the case, I’m glad that you made it.” He started the rest of the class on some easy things that they would manage on their own and taught Robbie how to do warm-ups since he didn’t want him to pull a muscle.

               “It’s always important to do warm-ups properly before any hard exercise so you don’t get hurt.” Sportacus explained to Robbie but he wasn’t listening. He was just thinking about how this was all just one big mistake and how he should be at home watching TV instead.  


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie is done with his first day in Sportacus' class. He tells his cousin and Íþróttaálfurinn how it all went and still isn't happy about the whole idea of being in Sportacus' class.

                By the time that class was over, Robbie felt exhausted and disgusting. He couldn’t remember the last time that he sweat like this. He was glad that he brought a change of clothes and a towel so he wouldn’t feel disgusting the whole way home, but he hated using the gym shower too.

               When he got out of the building, Glanni and Íþróttaálfurinn were waiting outside for him.

               “So....” Íþróttaálfurinn said, “How did class go?”

               “Awful.” Robbie said, “What did you expect me to say?”

               They spoke as they walked towards the car, eventually getting inside.

               “Well, you could elaborate.” Íþró said, “What did you do in class? What was so horrible?”

               It sounded as though if Íþró wasn’t taking him seriously and thought that he was whining about nothing as usual. He didn’t like that.

               “Well first of all, I was late because the whole place is so big. Then your brother had to watch me do the warm-ups alone and I didn’t do them right for the longest time. I’m pretty sure I made a crappy impression on the whole class. Then I tried lifting weights which was also embarrassing because the buff old lady next to me was lifting a lot more.”

               Glanni put a hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “I’m sure it was fine. This isn’t high school, Cuz. You worry about what people think too much. They’re probably not even looking your direction.”

               Robbie went on. “I didn’t even know that there was a wrong way to do a push-up. It took way too long since his eyes were mostly on me and he could see all my mistakes! Thankfully, he was a lot more patient than Íþró so he taught me gently... but I still wish he would just leave me alone! Just let me do it wrong and don’t embarrass me!”

               “Well, you can mess up your shoulder really bad if you’re not doing push-ups right.” Íþróttaálfurinn said. “Anyway, people get that sort of stuff wrong all the time. There’s nothing to get upset about.

               Robbie bit his lower lip. Again, they just didn’t understand! Yeah, maybe he was too worried about that kind of thing, but he couldn’t just brush those feelings aside either! Especially not in the moment! He leaned his head back and let out a defeated sigh.

               “I’m also very tired.... I’m pretty sure I’m going to get major muscle aches tomorrow...”

               “Well, we’re still very proud that you tried your best.” Íþró told him.

               Robbie rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel good even if Íþróttaálfurinn was technically saying something positive towards him for once. By the way that the cop spoke, he felt as though if he was being patronized, which wasn’t an improvement from Íþró’s usual attitude.

               Still, he couldn’t help but light up when Glanni said, “Why don’t we go get some ice cream as a celebration of you completing your first day?”

               Of course Íþróttaálfurinn asked his husband, “Why are you spoiling him again? All we are doing is getting him to leave the house for a few days every week. He is living under our roof. He should be expected to do that much,” but Glanni always had a way to persuade his husband to loosen up and stop being so strict towards everything.

               “Come on, Honey. Don’t be so harsh. This is a big step for him. He deserves a reward on his first day.” Glanni smiled and turned to Robbie. “Besides, I want to go too.”

               Íþró grumbled but ended up agreeing.

               The ice cream was really good but Robbie was still anxious that night knowing that in a few more days he’d have to go back to the gym again and repeat that exhausting and stressful experience.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie is having even more problems in class. He can’t help but feel like he’s in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I’ve been busy with school and also I’ve been having sleeping issues. 
> 
> Reading over this, I may or may not edit this chapter or even break it up into two chapters later. I think that maybe I could have broken it up a bit better. The second day was supposed to be a whole chapter but it felt kind of short so I just added in part of the third day. Anyway, I may change how much of what day goes into which chapter or add some details but the story won’t change so don’t worry.  
> Sorry if this doesn’t make sense I’m really sleepy now.  
> Tell me if you have any opinions on rather I should extend the second day and move everything for the third day to the next chapter. Is it weird the way it is right now? Thanks for your comments.

               Robbie’s second class came quickly and it didn’t go so well. Robbie still just couldn’t seem to get anything right. Everything he lifted felt too heavy so he just kept moving on to the next thing.

               He had alread tried pretty much everything set up in the room without any luck. The next thing that he decided to do was squats.

               Robbie just stared at the barbell in front of him for a while, wondering if he could really do this when one of his classmates asked him, ”What’s wrong?”. She was a skinny blonde lady but she still had a little bit of muscle on her bones.

              “N-Nothing!” Robbie said quickly. “I was just going to lift this weight, see?” He quickly lifted the weight, almost dropping it. He somehow managed to lift it back up though.

               The lady shook her head, “You’re gonna throw your back out doing that, dude. Sportacus seems busy with Paul, so I’ll help you out. He’s a great instructor but this class is a little big. Let’s go with something a little bit lighter.”

                This woman was friendly and just trying to be helpful, but this was exactly the kind of attention Robbie didn’t want. Even worse, it wasn’t from the instructor but a random classmate. He immediately became nervous. 

                 “Uh, Thanks.” Robbie said reluctantly, biting his lip. He didn’t know how to say no to this woman so he just proceeded to waste her time and disappoint her in his mind by doing the wrong things over and over again.

                 When it came to weight lifting, Robbie was definately not a quick learner. He got it eventually, but it took so long that he didn’t feel good even as he thanked the woman.

                 Robbie so busy scolding himself in his own head that he didn’t even see her smile and say no problem.

                 For the rest of the class, he kept bringing himself down in his head, asking himself why he had to waste that woman’s time. 

                 Class ended without him feeling like he accomplished in anything. In the end the only thing he knew how to do right was squats and some exercise Sportacus showed him that he didn’t even remember the name of. 

                 Now that class was over and he didn’t have to focus on weights, he was even more afraid of being approached like that again. He told Glanni and Íþróttaálfurinn about his experience in the car.

                They tried to comfort him again, telling him that it was all in his head, but he wasn’t convinced at all. He just didn’t want to go back to that class ever again.

-

               The night before Robbie’s third class started, Glanni and Íþró could easily tell that Robbie was very nervous. In addition to tapping his foot and biting his thumb, he also was a lot less talkative than usual. He didn’t even ask for dessert after eating.

                It was killing Glanni to see his cousin like this but Íþróttaálfurinn said that they should try to push him to do things or he would always be dependent on them.

               Strangely, when the next morning came, Robbie barely complained at all and went straight to the car. Glanni and Íþróttaálfurinn thought that this must be a good sign, but Robbie wasn’t actually doing any better than before.

               He was just feeling too mentally exhausted to argue with Glanni or Íþróttaálfurinn about getting in the car.

               Thinking it over the previous night, he had managed to convince himself that he was a nuisance to the both of them, so if anything he was doing worse.

               They got to the gym early so even though Robbie was in no rush to get to class, he still managed to get there on time.

               Robbie started doing warmups with the rest of the class. 

               “Remember to keep your back straight.” Sportacus told the class during their exercises, but Robbie knew that he was mainly talking to him.

               After that, he decided that he couldn’t keep this up anymore. He needed a break. “I’m going to go use the restroom.” he told Sportacus, who was now assisting someone else in setting up some weights.

               “Okay.” Sportacus said, looking up. “Do you know where it is?”

               “Yeah. I’m fine. I’ve passed it on the way to class.” Robbie assured him before walking out of the class.

               It felt good just to get out of that room. There were lots of options that weren’t weights this time, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

               He headed to the restroom. Although he had no intention of actually using it, he thought that it would make a nice place to be alone if nobody was there.

—

               After some time, Sportacus began to grow worried about his student. Robbie was taking a little too much time in the restroom. He excused himself from his class, telling everyone that they were doing great and that he would be right back.

               He was afraid that maybe Robbie had gotten lost in the building again. This was only his second day and it was quite large. He went to check the restroom first though, just in case he was still in there.

               When he opened the door, he was not expecting to see Robbie just standing there, staring at the mirror.

               “Robbie?”

               He walked up to him and under closer inspection, he was crying.

               Robbie quickly looked away quickly when his mind processed that Sportacus was in the room, but it was already too late.

               “Robbie, are you okay? What happened?” Sportacus asked, immediately becoming concerned for his student.

               Robbie wiped his face quickly before looking back at Sportacus.

               “N-Nothing! I just got something in my eye!” An obvious lie.

               “Your nose is red.” Sportacus pointed out.

               “I also have a cold.” Robbie sniffled.

               “All of the sudden?”  Sportacus tilted his head questioningly. 

               “Yes... no. Whatever. Just shut up, okay? Mind your own business.” Robbie huffed as he looked away again. 

               Sportacus came up to him and wrapped an arm around him, giving him a small squeeze.

               “Hey... hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me why you’re upset. I was only worried. I didn’t mean to pry.”

               And just like that, Robbie’s tears began to pour out again. He began to spill everything out to Sportacus, telling him about how useless and unwanted he truly felt.

               He told him how nothing really motivated him to do things for himself and how it had been going on for years.

               Sportacus listened to every word he said, nodding his head in understanding. It actually felt really good to Robbie to let all of his feelings out.

               Sportacus finally spoke after just listening to everything that Robbie had to say. It sounded like Robbie had a bad case of social anxiety.

               “Robbie, do you think that you might be depressed...?” he asked gently.

               Robbie definately looked surprised by this question. “Me...? Depressed?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie and Sportacus talk. Sportacus gives Robbie his own opinion on the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is my birthday month so I just sort of got distracted for a long time. It didn't help that I also had writer’s block. Anyway, I think I’m back.  
> This is a shorter chapter but I hope you like it.  
> Feel free to tell me if I made a mistake.

               Was Robbie depressed? He thought about it and was sort of unsure. “I mean, I don’t think so. I do feel sad a lot but I’ve never felt like I wanted to... die or anything....”

               Sportacus hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, but you don’t have to be suicidal to be depressed. It’s just one of the possible symptoms.”

               “How can I tell if I’m depressed then?” Robbie asked.

               “Well, your lack of motivation and feeling empty are also symptoms or signs that you might be depressed. I don’t know what’s going on for sure. I’m not a doctor, but it really does sound like you should get the opinion of a professional. You don’t sound happy.”

               “You mean like a psychologist?”

               Robbie sounded slightly offended but Sportacus nodded his head, “Yeah. It’s no big deal, really. Lots of people feel the need to see therapists or psychologists.” His voice was gentle and reassuring. 

               “I guess...” Robbie sighed. He thought that maybe Sportacus thought that he was pathetic but he seemed to be genuinely concerned for him.

                “If it means that I won’t feel terrible anymore it might be worth a try,” Robbie murmured even though he didn’t like the idea of increasing the amount of stuff he had to go through. 

               Sportacus patted his back comfortingly. “I definately think it will be worth it. If you’d like, I could talk to my brother about this.”

               “I would appreciate that. I’m not very good at talking with him.” Robbie sighed. “Besides, I’m afraid that it’d be asking too much to ask him to take me. I mean, I already live in his house. He’s already given me a lot. I know that even though I know I annoy him sometimes.”

               “My brother cares a lot about you. He may seem strict at times but I can tell he considers you family.” Sportacus told Robbie. “It was clear just by how he talked about you over the phone while he was trying to get you into my class.”

               Sportacus was certain that Íþróttaálfurinn would want to help Robbie if he thought that it was right for him. Besides, it wasn’t like his brother didn’t have any money.

               Robbie still didn’t look so sure. Sportacus scratched his head. “Anyway, I’ll make sure to talk to him.” Sportacus said. “I should probably get back to my class now. I might get in trouble for not doing my job properly if I stay here any longer. If you come back with me, you don’t have to participate. If you aren’t feeling up to it you can just watch.”

               “No,” Robbie said, “I’m fine. I can join now. I‘m feeling a lot better now. It seems like I just needed to get my emotions out and cry a little.” He wiped his eyes a final time, averting his gaze. “So uh- thank you for listening to me I guess.”

               Sportacus smiled in response, “No problem, Robbie. You can talk to me any time. You seem nice and I like to help out however I can.”

               Robbie returned the smile awkwardly and they walked back to the class together. Sportacus was really nice. Robbie was glad that he was his fitness instructor... even though he didn’t want a fitness instructor in the first place.

                After class was over, Robbie went back to the car like normal. He didn’t tell Glanni or Íþróttaálfurinn about leaving the class and crying or about talking to Sportacus. He figured that Sportacus would talk to Íþróttaálfurinn so he didn’t have to. 

               When asked about his day in class, Robbie just lied and said that it was the same as last time.

               It sort of made him nervous knowing that Sportacus would call Íþróttaálfurinn later, but he tried not to think about that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good things are starting to happen. Robbie starts talking to his fitness instructor more and he is seeing a psychiatrist now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness again. I ended up busier than I expected. Don’t ever worry that I won’t finish something though. I will.  
> Sorry this chapter doesn’t have much dialogue and has longer sentences. it just sort of came out that way. I promise the next chapter, their ‘date’, will have a lot more talking :)  
> Feel free to tell me if you catch any mistakes as usual.

              Sportacus must have done a good job talking to his brother because Íþróttaálfurinn barely questioned Robbie at all before setting up an appointment with a psychiatrist. 

               Robbie had decided that he was willing to try anything to start feeling normal again. He didn’t get his hopes up on this working though. It had been so long since he had started feeling like this, he wasn’t even exactly sure what normal was anymore. 

-

                The appointment was pretty early in the morning which Robbie didn’t like. Glanni said that it was because the doctor was very well-rated and popular so they couldn't set up a meeting at a later time.

                Even though he had to wait a little before it actually started, the meeting didn’t feel as long as Robbie thought it would.

                The doctor listened to him and gave him reassuring words. He talked about prescribing him antidepressants in the near future and gave him some tips on what might help him in the mean time.

                 Robbie was surprised to hear that exercising was one of the things that was supposed to help. Well, he was already taking Sportacus’ class, rather he liked it or not.

-

                As soon as Sportacus saw Robbie come into his next class, he went over to talk to him.

                “Hi Robbie! It’s nice to see you! Have you been doing better since the last time I saw you? I heard you saw a psychiatrist. How did that go?” The fitness instructor asked.

                “I don’t know. It’s fine so far.” Robbie answered, scratching the back of his neck. “By the way, thanks for talking to Íþróttaálfurinn for me. It’s embarrassing but it really did make things a lot easier.” 

                Sportacus beamed. “No problem at all! You don’t have to be embarrassed. I’m just glad if it helped. So I assume your first appointment with your psychiatrist did go well then?”

                Robbie nodded and told him about what he discussed with the doctor and what he was supposed to do to try to  keep himself from feeling depressed.

                They chatted for a while until one of Robbie’s classmates told Sportacus that it was time to begin the class. 

                Every class since then, Sportacus would ask him how he was doing and Robbie would tell him. 

                After a while, Robbie could really tell that he was feeling better (and therefore so could Sportacus). The new changes in his life and the medication were really starting to do something. He still couldn’t say that he liked exercising though and things weren’t perfect.

                Even if he didn’t feel like crap as often as he used to and went out more instead of wasting away in front of the television, Robbie still wasn’t really passionate about anything in life. Also, he didn’t hang out with anybody besides his cousin and occasionally Íþróttaálfurinn.

                 He still had social anxiety and he had told Sportacus about that. He was actually kind of getting used to talking to his fitness instructor although he was still pretty sure that he came off as awkward.

-

              One Friday afternoon not too long after that, Robbie woke up on the living room couch to find Íþróttaálfurinn talking on the phone in the next room. 

              “Oh yeah. I think he’s doing a lot better too. It is a big relief to see some recovery. Yeah, I’ll make sure to ask him. Uh-huh, I agree.”

              “Who are you talking to?” Robbie asked, getting up and going over to him. He was pretty sure the conversation that Íþróttaálfurinn was having was about him. Naturally, he wanted to know what was up.

              “It’s my brother.” Íþróttaálfurinn said, putting his hand over the phone. “He says he wants to go somewhere with you and hang out. I think it could be good for you too.”

               Robbie bit his lip. “Uh- Can I please see the phone?” he asked Íþró, who nodded slowly and handed it to him.

               Robbie put it up to his ear and turned away from Íþró. “Sportacus, you don’t have to do this, you know? You’ve already helped me enough...”

               “Hi Robbie.” It was strange to hear Sportacus’ voice outside of class. “Of course I know that I don’t have to.” Sportacus said, “But I want to help out if it sounds like I can.”

               Robbie was silent for a little while before he asked. “Are you pitying me because I broke down in front of you? Your brother didn’t ask for you to do this, did he?” 

                “Of course not. I called him.” Sportacus said. “And as for your other question, I wouldn’t say I pity you. I do empathize with you and care that you get better though. If you don’t like that, that honestly isn’t the only reason why I want to hang out with you. I genuinely want to get to know you better, Robbie! I had fun talking to you in class!”

                Robbie thought for a few seconds before saying, “I guess I can believe you...” Sportacus was always so positive and cheerful towards him, it was hard to imagine that he was lying. “Where do you want to go?”

                Robbie could hear Sportacus smile from the other end of the phone. It was really easy to tell by his voice.

                 “Anywhere you want!” he said, “If you have somewhere in mind I will drive you there! I did hear from my brother that you are still trying to figure out what you are really into though, so if you can’t decide I can take you to an area with lots of different things so we can see what there is to do. I can also give you a list of places that you might be curious about if you like.”

                “Wow, you really put some thought into this, Didn’t you?” Robbie blinked. He was sort of impressed. 

                 “It’s no big deal.” Sportacus said, sounding slightly embarrassed for some reason. “Anyway let’s set up a day, place and time to meet!” 

                  In the end they came to an agreement that Sportacus would pick him up on that Sunday and they would have lunch together.

                   Robbie couldn’t help but feel a little excited. He wondered if Sportacus could really be his friend. He really was the kind of person anyone would want as one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sportacus take Robbie to a restaurant first. Robbie already feels kind of awkward seeing Sportacus in a different setting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for writing slow as always. Believe it or not, I am actually overseas right now. I will try to write the next part sooner though. I’m in the countryside now so I should be less busy.
> 
> As usual, tell me if there are any errors. I didn’t even really get to read over this whole chapter because it’s late as heck where I am. I wanted to finish this today though because I feel bad for making you guys wait this long. Anyway, I will check it again in the morning. Hope you enjoy!

                A few days later Sportacus arrived at Íþróttaálfurinn’s house to pick up Robbie, just like they planned.

                His car was old and clearly used but it seemed like Sportacus took good care of it. Robbie thought that he wasn’t poor, but he probably wasn’t as wealthy as Íþróttaálfurinn. That sort of almost made him a bit more relatable. 

                Robbie began to get in the back seat  because he was used to sitting there while Glanni and Íþróttaálfurinn were in the front. Sportacus stopped him though and said, “You can sit up here,” gesturing to the passenger’s seat. 

                Robbie felt a bit embarrassed as he took the seat next to Sportacus.

                The fitness instructor smiled, slowly backing out of the driveway. “So have you decided what you might like to do today? I know we didn’t really establish that on the phone even though we talked about it a little bit.”

                Robbie shook his head. “Uh- Sorry. I couldn’t think of anything that I really wanted to do... I liked your ideas though. Just eating and then going to an area where we can check things out seems fine to me.”

                He didn’t know why but he felt so nervous. Maybe it was because it was in such a small car or maybe because it wasn’t in class. Being in the car with Sportacus was like talking to him for the first time all over again. 

                Sportacus started talking about different places that they could eat next as he drove them around so that they could get closer to some resturants. 

                “What are you hungry for? Any specific restraunts you’d like to go to?” Sportacus asked. 

                “Uhh-“ Robbie was pretty sure that the resturants that came to his mind weren’t places that Spotacus would like to eat. Just looking at him, it was clear that he didn’t live on a diet of pizza and hotdogs. 

               Robbie also knew that Íþróttaálfurinn made a big deal about being healthy, so it was possible that his brother would be the same. It was true that he seemed less strict and naggy, but he was also a fitness instructor.

                “Well,” Robbie asked, “Do you have any preferences? I mean, I don’t want to suggest somewhere that you wouldn’t like. I only know a few places to be honest.”

                “Oh, right.” Sportacus said. “Sorry.” He knew Robbie didn’t really get out that much. He wanted to take him anywhere he wanted but maybe he should have given him a list of possible places.

                “Yeah...” Robbie bit his lip.

                Asking Sportacus about what he likes was actually sort of a risk on Robbie’s part because he was very picky and he didn’t want Sportacus to suggest somewhere weird.

                He really wanted Sportacus to enjoy their time together though. He was sort of hoping that maybe Sportacus would suggest that they hang out again and that they’d end up as friends.

                 Therefore, he didn’t want to feed Sportacus something that he found repulsive, even if that meant that he himself might have to eat something he didn’t like instead.

                   “I can eat anywhere, really.” Sportacus said. He wanted Robbie to like the food too. That way there was a better chance that Robbie would say yes to hanging out with him again.

                    Sportacus cleared his throat. He decided that he should try to be honest if Robbie really wanted to find out, “I mean, there’s bound to be something that I’d like on any menu. I guess I am the kind of person who worries about their health though. I became a fitness instructor after all.” He chuckled softly.

                   That was exactly what Robbie was afraid he would say. So now all of the places that he had in mind were off the table. He couldn’t suggest pizza after this.

                    Sportacus looked at the expression on his face. “Hey! Don’t worry so much! Like I said, there is bound to be something I like at any place! Would you like me to tell you what places are in the area?” 

                   Robbie nodded his head quickly. “Yes please.”

                   “Okay. Let’s see... There’s a nice sandwich place really close by, that hidden Thai restaurant that my brother showed me, a Japanese place and a new Mexican place that I‘ve driven by a few times. I haven’t been there yet but I think they’re pretty popular.”

                  “Is Mexican food healthy?” Robbie asked cautiously. At least he kind of knew what to expect from there. He had been to a fast food place with tacos before.

                  Sportacus chuckled, causing Robbie to blush a little. “If you’re worried about me, it’s okay, Robbie. Eating something a little different once isn’t going to kill me. If you really want to know, traditional Mexican food is very healthy. A lot of the things that they sell around here isn’t traditional Mexican food though, so it isn’t the same. Still, if you get something like a grilled fish taco it won’t be unhealthy.” 

                “So then... would you want to go there?” Robbie asked. 

                “Sure!” Sportacus smiled. “I’m heading there right now.”            

                 He turned the car around and drove left. Robbie just sat back and watched the road. After a while they were at the restaurant. 

-

                 Right after entering, they were lead to a table with two chairs. Robbie was nervous all over again now that he had to sit face to face at the same table with Sportacus.

                  He hid behind his menu while he could and tried to focus on ordering something that didn’t have too many vegetables. 

                  After a while, a waiter came by. “Are you guys ready?” he asked. 

                  Sportacus gave Robbie a friendly smile, nodding his head to let him know that he was ready when Robbie was. 

                  Robbie became flustered and quickly ordered one of the options that he had been considering. What he picked ended up being some simple chicken tacos. He also remembered to ask for no tomatoes. Sportacus got the turkey taco lettuce wraps.

                   The waiter then took Robbie’s only shield away, his menu. He knew that he was going to have to talk to Sportacus now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sportacus tries to get Robbie to open up to him again. After that, they go walk around to look at some things. Will Robbie enjoy himself and see anything that he likes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh! Sorry for taking so long again! I think it might have been even longer than before . I’m finally back in the country though and here is the next chapter!

               Robbie knew that he was being awkward again. His eyes kept wandering around the room because he became nervous whenever his gaze met  Sportacus’.

                “So, um....“ Robbie forced himself to look at Sportacus. He felt like he needed to fill the silence but he didn’t know what to say. “How has your day been?“ He cleared his throat.   
  
                “It’s been good.” Sportacus smiled. “I’ve been really excited to hang out with you!”

                “That’s good...” Robbie felt his face heat up at the positive response. Suddenly his throat felt very dry again. He didn’t know what to say next.  
  
                Thankfully, Sportacus was a little bit better at talking and he had appreciated Robbie’s effort.   
  
                “Can you tell me about your life before you moved in with my brother? I’d like to find out more about you so I can do a better job at guessing what you might want to do.”   
  
                “Before I moved in...?” Robbie racked through his brain to figure out something to say. “Uh... I-I don’t know... I just kept switching jobs....”   
  
                That wasn’t as detailed of an answer as Sportacus was hoping. He kept encouraging Robbie to talk though. 

                “Okay, what was the best job that you’ve had then?”

                It took a little while for Robbie to answer. “...I worked at a ice cream shop for a short amount of time. Maybe that one?”

                “And you liked working there?” Sportacus questioned.

                Robbie shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that... It was still work but it wasn’t horrible. I mean, there was lots of ice cream. Sometimes they’d let us have some. I wasn’t allowed to eat any of it during work though.” 

                That was better. Robbie had talked a bit more that time.

                Sportacus smiled, “You sure do like sweets, don’t you?”

                He asked him a few more questions like “What did you do back when you were in high school? Were you in any clubs?” and “What do you do when you spend time with your cousin?"

                Slowly, Robbie began to relax and open up to Sportacus again. 

                Talking to him some more, Sportacus even found out that Robbie likes watching shows about redecorating old houses. He also said he liked a show where they give some random person on the street a makeover.

                Sportacus already knew that Robbie likes television, but he never knew which kinds of programs. This could be a hint for what kinds of places to take him.  
  
                 After a while their food came. Robbie took a bite of his chicken taco. It wasn’t cake but it wasn’t bad. Sportacus seemed happy with his vegetable thingy too. They ate and chatted until their food was gone and it was time to go find something else to do.

  
                  With a little more tasking in the car, Sportacus decided to just take Robbie to place where they could walk around and check out stores. He figured that Robbie probably wouldn’t hate that and it was the safest choice.   
  
                 First, they went to a gardening store. Sportacus figured that gardening was probably a hobby that Robbie hadn’t considered before.

                 Unfortunately, Robbie didn’t seem too interested. It seemed like he didn’t like things that were too outdoorsy. 

                 They then looked at some furniture and clothes. Robbie seemed somewhat interested in the clothes. He didn’t want anything when Sportacus asked though.

                  As they looked at different clothing, Robbie made little comments like, “This looks cool. I wish it was in a deeper purple.” or “The colorscheme is nice, but what kind of pattern is that?” 

                 Spoertacus wasn’t sure if Robbie was talking to him or not. It sort of sounded like he was just muttering these things to himself. He agreed or commented back to everything he said though. 

                 Next, they looked at a pet shop. Robbie seemed to have more fun there. The puppies were really cute. He didn’t want to touch any of the animals though. He was almost certain that something would bite him.

                 After they exited the pet store, Sportacus noticed that he had been out for a pretty long time. 

                 “Do you need to be home at a specific time?” Sportacus asked.

                 “They didn’t say.” Robbie replied. “I guess it has been pretty long though. They might expect me to be back before dinner.”

                 “I guess we should start heading back then.” Sportacus said. “We already looked at almost all of the stores in the area.

                 “Alright.” Robbie nodded in agreement. It was weird. He had felt so uncomfortable in the beginning but he actually didn’t want to go home now. 

-

                 As they were walking back to the car, Sportacus noticed that Robbie was staring at a hand-made clothing shop. 

                “You want to go in there?” he offered.  

                “I was just looking.” Robbie seemed embarrassed. 

                “Okay.” Sportacus said, “We can still go inside if you want to though.”

                Robbie hesitated. “Maybe....”

                Sportacus smiled and took Robbie’s hand, leading him inside the store.  

                Robbie was embarrassed but he let Sportacus drag him inside. It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t interested in something that was in there.

-

               There was two women working in the shop. They weren’t quite old enough to be called old women yet, but they had visibly graying hair and wrinkles. One was making something on a sewing machine. It seemed like this was what caught Robbie’s attention. His eyes went straight to the machine as they entered the store. 

                When Robbie saw Sportacus watching him, he quickly explained, “My grandmother had one of these. She used to make me stuff when I was a kid.”

                “That’s sweet. Have you ever used one?” Sportacus asked him curiously. 

                Robbie’s ears turned a little red. “Uh... yeah, up until about middle school. I stopped after I realized how girly it was though.”

                Sportacus tilted his head at that. “Girly?” 

                “Well yeah,” Robbie said. “I had a hand-made stuffed animal keychain on my backpack.  Some kids at school wouldn’t leave me alone when they found out I made it with my grandmother.” 

                “That doesn’t sound very nice.” Sportacus frowned, “I don’t see why you should listen to them. If you enjoy doing something, there’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, plenty of men work with clothing.”

                “My grandmother said the same thing, actually.” Robbie chuckled sadly, “She never stopped making me things until she passed away either, no matter how many times I told her she didn’t have to. I felt sort of guilty about quitting for a while. I didn’t want want to be picked on again though. Besides, she’s already been gone for a long time. It’s too late.”

                “It’s not too late if you really enjoyed it.” Sportacus said gently. “Did you begin it for her or for yourself?”

                “Myself, I guess.” Robbie said. “I was the one who showed interest before she taught me. I thought it was really cool that she was able to make her own stuff. Part of the fun was doing it with her though. It might feel wrong to do it without her. Besides, I’m pretty sure I must have forgotten a lot of stuff since then.”

                “I see...” Sportacus said. “Maybe you should consider it again though! You could take another class or something. You could always quit if it makes you uncomfortable.”

                “Maybe I will.” Robbie said. He sounded unsure about it. When he said, “Thanks for thinking about me,” it sounded genuine though. 

-

                Robbie watched the woman work for a bit longer before saying, “Okay, we can go now. Sorry for making you wait.”

                “Are you sure? We can stay longer if you’d like. Did you want to do any shopping here?”

                Robbie looked around thoughtfully. “I might just grab one of those embroiled patches. They’re cute and cheap.”

                Plus, it would be something to remember this day by. He didn’t say that out loud though.

                After purchasing a patch with a gooey pink donut on it, they headed towards the car again. 

                “I had a lot of fun hanging out with you today, Robbie.” Sportacus said as he opened the door for the other man. “I hope you had some fun too. Maybe we can do this again?”

                Robbie entered the car and smiled at that, “I had a lot of fun too. And yeah, I’d really like that.” 

                Sportacus smiled too. He began to drive Robbie home. They both felt like this had been a big success and couldn’t wait for the next time they could meet.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A even bigger time skip. Robbie is doing a lot better in most ways. He has a new problem though, and that problem is his feelings!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long aaaand I need to sleep now. I’ll search for mistakes later but you can tell me if I made any just in case. I’m passing out because I didn’t let myself sleep tonight until I finished this chapter.

               It had been almost a month since the first time that Sportacus took Robbie somewhere for the first time. Sportacus showed him many more places such as a bookstore, a model shop, an art festival, a bakery and a swimming pool.

               Some were cool and others weren’t as interesting. Sportacus usually took him to three or four places a day though, so it was never boring. Plus, it could never be too terrible to Robbie because Sportacus was there and he always made Robbie smile.

               Robbie and Sportacus even ended up going back to the homemade clothing shop a few more times and Robbie’s interest in sewing grew stronger.

               After the third visit, he talked to Glanni and got him to fetch his grandmother’s old sewing machine from his parent’s storage. His grandmother had left it to Robbie, but he never used it again until now. Thankfully it somehow still worked.

               Robbie started teaching himself how to sew with it again. He didn’t know if he had the courage to start any other classes yet, but he didn’t feel as worthless as he did before. 

               He was actually doing something now, something that he enjoyed. Maybe he would make Sportacus something to thank him for being so nice to him.

               Robbie and Sportacus had become a lot closer too. Robbie had even began to develop feelings for the other man. How could he not? Sportacus had been so sweet and supportive. Plus, it helped that he had already found him physically attractive.

               Robbie knew that there was no way someone like Sportacus would return his feelings though. Robbie still had issues unlike Sportacus who seemed to have it all together. Sportacus probably didn’t even like guys!

               But it was no use. Robbie still couldn’t get Sportacus out of his head. It was even beginning to have an impact on his sleep! He loved sleep!

               After some thought and consideration, Robbie decided that he needed to do something about this. Maybe if he could be even more certain that Sportacus wouldn’t be interested in him, his mind could give up.

               He decided to talk to Íþróttaálfurinn to get a better clue. He would just ask about Sportacus’ sexual preference. That wouldn’t be too weird, would it?

               Íþróttaálfurinn was doing taxes when Robbie walked in the room.

               “Hey.” Robbie went and joined him at the table awkwardly.

               “Hey.” Íþróttaálfurinn repeated, not looking up from his work.

               Robbie went on. “I have something that I want to ask you.”

               “Yeah? What is it?” Íþró hummed.

               “It might be a little bit strange.”

               “That’s not a problem.”

               “Really? Um...” Robbie was having a really difficult time figuring out how to phrase this.

               Íþró sounded slightly impatient though.

               “What? Spit it out. I’m doing something kind of important right now.” 

               Robbie felt slightly irritated at that. Íþróttaálfurinn was treating him like a kid again wasn’t he? He wasn’t even that much older than him.

               Oh, Screw it! Robbie was just going to have to ask, no matter it came out! He closed his eyes and took a small breath. “I was just kind of curious... Does Sportacus like men or women?”

               That made Íþróttaálfurinn look up. “What...? Why? Did he say something strange to you?”

               “No but...” Robbie was cut off before he could think of what to say.

               “Did you catch him staring at you weirdly or something?”

               “No.” Robbie didn’t think so. “So then... that means he does like men? Or are you not sure?”

               Íþróttaálfurinn smiled a little bit, now realizing what was going on. Robbie liked Sportacus!

               “Yeah.” Íþróttaálfurinn said. “He likes both actually, just like your cousin.”

               “Oh....” Robbie wasn’t expecting that. This was supposed to make him give up and stop feeling funny in front of Sportacus, but now he didn’t know what to do.”

               “You don’t seem happy.” Íþróttaálfurinn observed. “I think he likes you a lot too if you’re curious about that.”

               “What?!” Robbie definitely wasn’t expecting that. “I- I wasn’t-!! ...But how would you know? D-Did he tell you?”

               “No.” Íþróttaálfurinn said. “But I’m his brother. I grew up with him. Besides, it’s extremely obvious. Especially lately, it seems like he likes you more and more.”

               “I’m not so sure...” Robbie blushed and scratched his neck.

               “I’m telling you. I can tell.” Íþróttaálfurinn said. “You guys should talk... I won’t say anything to him though. That’s up to you. If you don’t have any more questions, I should focus on taxes again.”

               “Okay.” Robbie said, biting his lip.

               Could that actually be true? Did he actually have a chance? He was still terrified of asking though. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship.

               He would definitely be stressing over this some more. He wanted to let his feelings out and feel at ease, but he was still afraid of his heart being broken.

               He was just about to go back to his room when the phone rang. Robbie picked it up since Íþróttaálfurinn was still busy.

               “Hello?” 

               “Hey, Robbie!” The cheerful fitness instructor smiled through the phone. “I was just wondering if you’d be able to hang out sometime this week. Maybe Saturday? Usual time?”

               “I- Uh... yeah.” Robbie said. “Saturday is fine.”

               He quickly decided that just because he was going through this didn’t mean that he was going to avoid Sportacus.

               He always had the most fun when he saw him. It would be silly to hide when Sportacus didn’t even know anything was up. Besides, it was just hard to say no to that voice.

               “That’s great!” Sportacus said. “Oh, also I’ve been thinking of more places to take you. I was wondering if you might be interested in going to the aquarium this week.” 

               “Yeah. That sounds great.” Anywhere sounded fun with Sportacus... If his heart didn’t go crazy every time their eyes met, that it. His hands felt a little bit sweaty on the phone. He cleared his throat. “So... I guess I’ll see you then. Bye.” 

               “Bye, Robbie! See you soon!” Sportacus said. He then waited a few seconds just in case before he hung up the phone. 

               Robbie let out a deep sigh. Rather it was a dreamy sigh for Sportacus or a massive sigh of relief to get off the phone, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he probably wasn’t going to sleep well tonight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie tried to work up the courage to ask Sportacus out. Can he do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried for over an hour after hearing about the recent death of Stefan Karl and I’m sure that anybody else reading this was very sad too. I will still always love Lazytown and Stefan’s work as Robbie and I hope that he was able to pass with comfort and no fear in his heart.
> 
> This story will still be finished. I will probably take a long break from writing Lazytown fics after finishing the rest of this fic though.  
> This isn’t quite the last chapter but it there should only be one or two more. Thanks for always reading.
> 
> ~NamelessToastMachine

               When Sportacus pulled into the driveway, Robbie was already outside and waiting for him.  

              Sportacus rolled down the window and smiled at him. “Hi, Robbie! I hope you weren’t waiting long. Ready to go see some fish today?”

               “I just got out here.” Robbie said, “And yeah, I’m excited. It’s... been a while since I’ve been to an aquarium.”

               He sat in the passenger’s seat next to Sportacus, staring into his own lap. He still wasn’t sure if he was actually going to tell Sportacus about his feelings today.

              He wanted to believe that Íþróttaálfurinn was right about Sportacus having a thing for him, but he was having trouble believing that. He was so scared of rejection and ruining their friendship.

               He would have worried it longer while they were in the car but Sportacus kept trying to chat with him so he allowed himself to become distracted and relax a little bit.  

               It would probably be too crowded to have a decent conversation with Sportacus once they were in the aquarium anyway.

               Sure, telling him as quickly as possible was ideal because he didn’t want to worry about it for any longer, but the situation had to be perfect if this was actually going to happen. He couldn’t just ask him out in a crowd. Maybe today wasn’t the day after all.

-

               As it turned out, the aquarium wasn’t overly-crowded like Robbie had imagined it might be. 

               “The line isn’t so bad.” He commented, scratching his neck. “We must have been lucky.”

               “Yeah,” Sportacus said with a smile, “Plus, I read online that this was the best time to go!”

                Come to think of it, Robbie had thought that the time that they decided to meet today was a bit later than usual.

                He realized that Sportacus must have chosen this time for a pretty good reason. That was so thoughtful of him.

               Great... now he had one less excuse not to tell Sportacus his feelings today.

-

               They got their tickets and entered the building.

               It was large on the inside and the air was a bit chilly. The walls had pictures to show what kind of aquatic life resided in that area. The first area that they went inside to look at was where the river creatures were.

               Robbie tried to enjoy looking at the different creatures, but his mind kept drifting back to Sportacus and what he was going to do.

               “Look Robbie! The otters are so cute!” Sportacus said, realizing that Robbie was just staring at a wall rather than anything else. 

               “Huh? Oh yeah.” Robbie blinked. “Sorry, I just spaced out a bit.”

               “That’s okay.” Sportacus said. “I just hope you’re having fun. Do you have a favorite fish? Maybe we can go find that.”

               “Sportaflop, you’re always way too thoughtful and worried about other people.” Robbie said. “I’m fine... You should know I always have fun when I’m with you.”

               Sportacus smiled brightly when he heard that and Robbie could feel the heat rise to his cheeks.

               “I mean.... let’s go see some colorful fish. I like the fish with bright and unique patterns a lot.”

               “Okay!” Sportacus said and grabbed his hand. “This way!” 

               Robbie made a strange noise as Sportacus grabbed onto his hand. He then let the other man drag him to an entirely different area with saltwater fish.

-

               Sportacus stopped in front of a tank with lots of multicolored tropical fish. 

               “Did you mean something like this?” he asked Robbie, a giant grin on his face.

                Robbie nodded his head and went closer to the tank. Otters and penguins were cute but it was fascinating to see such pretty patterns happening naturally in nature.

                They spent some time pointing different fish out and talking about which ones were the most pretty. At this point, Robbie had stopped worrying about what to say to Sportacus again. 

               They looked at a few more rooms full of fish until they reached another room, or rather a tunnel this time.

               All the walls and the ceiling were all glass so they could see fish swimming around them from every angle.

               Some of the smaller fish were grouped together, synchronized as they swam. Most of the fish just swam around doing their own thing though. Occasionally a giant whale shark would even swim by, looming over them. 

              The fish in this area weren’t as colorful as the fish in the smaller tanks, but they didn’t need to be. When you asked looked at it all together it was even more amazing and beautiful. 

               Robbie looked over at Sportacus, the light from the giant fish tank hitting both of their faces and tinting them blue. 

               When Sportacus smiled back at him, he remembered his intense feelings and realized that this might be the perfect moment if he wanted to tell Sportacus how he felt.  

               He scanned the room with his eyes quickly. It was almost empty except a couple who were talking amongst themselves and a man who was alone but far away. Okay, he could do this...

               He moved a little closer to Sportacus and forced himself to make eye contact again. 

               His throat suddenly felt very dry as he forced himself to ask, “Hey, Sport. Do you mind if I tell you something? I’m not sure you’ll like it but... I need to get this off my chest.” 

               “Sure.” Sportacus said, turning to Robbie, “Is everything okay?”

               “Yeah.” Robbie said. “It’s just.... I... I really like you and I was wondering if maybe... next time we go somewhere... it could be a date?” 

               Wow, that sounded a lot more pathetic than he had intended it to.

               When Robbie saw Sportacus’ surprised expression, he took it negatively and immediately regretted saying anything.

                “I mean- Shoot! Oh God! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything!” he said. “That was so dumb of me to even consider telling you! I really messed up!” 

               “No- No! Robbie!” Sportacus said, “You didn’t mess up!” 

               “Yes I did! You don’t have to cover it up! I just-“ 

               “It’s true!” Sportacus cut him off, “In fact, I was thinking about asking you the same thing today!” 

               “....You what?” 

               “Yeah!” Sportacus said, “I’ve always thought you were cute and I’ve liked you for a while now!”

               Robbie blushed. “Wait a second... that means...” 

               Sportacus took Robbie’s hands “Yes! I’d love to start going out with you!” 

               “No... I mean...” 

               “Huh?” Sportacus frowned. “What is it?”

                “This whole time you would have asked me out.... even if I didn’t say anything?”

               Sportacus chuckled and wrapped his arms around him, “Well yeah, probably... But don’t think about it like that!” He kissed Robbie on the head sweetly. “It was a great surprise hearing it from you first.”

               Robbie grumbled complaints to himself as he buried his face in Sportacus’ shoulder. 

               The fitness instructor chuckled, ”I’ll make it up to you. Our first date together is going to be so great, Robbie!”

-

               The rest of the day was a lot more relaxing for Robbie. They saw more fish and ate together.

               He almost forgot about everything that happened today until Sportacus gave him a parting kiss after he dropped him off.

                “See you next class.” Sportacus said before driving off.

                Robbie couldn’t even remember the last time that he was this happy.  He wouldn’t stop smiling after he went back in the house. Even when his face hurt from grinning so much he was too happy to care.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie doesn't show up to class. What's going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this isn't the last chapter like I thought. There will be one more. Sorry this took so long. I wanted to be sure about how to end it, I was sad for a little while and of course I also I got super busy with college. I didn't want it this fic to end sad but also I didn't want it to seem like just because Sportacus showed up all of Robbie's problems are solved either. So you'll see what I do. I'll try not to take as long as I did last time which should be easy considering how long it took. For any of you that waited this long I'd like to apologize and thank you for your patience.  
> -Nameless Toast Machine

               Everything had gone so well the last time Sportacus saw Robbie. That was why he was so surprised and disappointed when Robbie didn’t show up to his next class. He called Glanni on the phone to make sure everything was alright. Of course, it was probably just a cold or something but he wanted to make sure. Maybe he was being a bit protective but he knew that Robbie got upset a bit easier than most people.

               Glanni has pretty much confirmed that Robbie must be sick when he told him that Robbie wasn’t feeling well. Sportacus still wanted to see Robbie though, so he decided that it may be a good idea to go pay him a visit. He knew where his brother lived so he could go over and surprise them.

              His brother and Glanni both already knew that him and Robbie were going out and they had both been very supportive and happy for them. Besides, he always gave his brother surprise visits in the past. He was sure they would appreciate him coming over too.  
-  
               It was Íþróttaálfurinn who opened the door and greeted Sportacus. “Sport!” he said, “I didn’t expect you to come over! Are you here to See Robbie?

               “Yep!” Sportacus said, I even brought him a present to cheer him up. It’s a book on cool things to sew!”

               “Oh.” Íþróttaálfurinn sucked in some air through his teeth, “You might not want to show him that today.”

               “Why?” Sportacus blinked, “What’s the matter?”

               Íþró gave Glanni a strange look as he came up behind him. “You didn’t tell him what was wrong with Robbie?”

               “What, what’s wrong with Robbie?” Sportacus asked in a worried voice.

               “I promised Robbie I wouldn’t say!” Glanni said, putting up his arms defensively at his husband who kept looking at him strangely. He had intentionally made it sound like Robbie was sick over the phone because that’s what his cousin wanted.

               “Uhg.” Íþróttaálfurinn rubbed his temple and looked up at his younger brother. “You know that old sewing machine that Robbie likes to use?”  
               “You mean the one that used to be his grandmother’s?” Sportacus questioned.

               “Yeah. That one.” Íþróttaálfurinn sighed. “It uh... broke. We are looking for somewhere to try to get it fixed but he’s still really upset.”

               Sportacus frowned, “Oh wow... I can see how he’d be upset.” He was even more worried now.

               “I know.” Íþróttaálfurinn sighed. “I feel horrible because I’m the one who knocked it over.”

               “Nobody blames you, darling.” Glanni said, putting his hand on his Íþró’s shoulder, “It was set up too close to the door. There was no way you could have known that it was there. Besides, it’s bad enough Robbie is beating himself up about it, you shouldn’t do it too.”

                “Yeah.” Íþróttaálfurinn muttered, “I guess. I would like to fix it though. No matter no much money it costs. I know how much it means to him.” Robbie sometimes didn’t recognize it and Íþróttaálfurinn could be strict to Robbie, but he really did care about him.

                Sportacus nodded in support. “It sounds like it was just a big accident. But that’s really nice of you. Can I go talk to Robbie? I’d like to try to cheer him up.”

                Glanni felt hesitant about the idea of letting Sportacus see him because he knew Robbie didn’t even want Sportacus to know about what happened. He didn’t stop Sportacus as Íþróttaálfurinn pointed his brother to Robbie’s room though.

-  
                 Robbie was sitting on his bed. It looked like he wasn’t doing anything, just sitting there and staring at empty space. It took him a few seconds to notice that Sportacus had entered the room. He looked surprised when he saw him. “Sportacus-“

                 “Hey Robbie.” Sportacus said as he walked over to him. “I heard what happened.”

                 “What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to know.” Robbie frowned.

                 “What? Robbie—“

                 “I know I shouldn’t be so upset over this! It’s not like the sewing machine is my grandmother or anything! It’s.... just an inanimate object. It would probably be more convenient if I used a newer model. It’s just... uhg...”

                 He was just glad Sportacus wasn’t there when it had happened or he would have seen him a lot more upset. His tears had dried out at this point.

                 “It’s not stupid.” Sportacus squeezed his hand. “It’s completely normal. That sewing machine was a big part of your memories with your grandmother.”

                 “Yes but I was supposed to have gotten better.” Robbie said, “I wasn’t supposed to go back to feeling sad again. Especially so soon and right after we start dating. That’s not fair to you. I don’t want to be a burden...”

                 “You’re not a burden.” Sportacus assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Depression can be unpredictable and so can life. I don’t expect you to get all better because you’re dating me.”

                 “Okay.” Robbie buried his face in his knees. He sighed. “What if they can’t fix it and they tell me to replace it? I don't even like the idea of anybody replacing any of the parts!”

                 “I don’t know the outcome.” Sportacus admitted gently, moving his hand to his boyfriend’s back, “But I’m here for you and so is my brother and your cousin. Just know that and.... I think it’s best if you try not to just think about it so much right now.”

                 “What do you mean?” Robbie blinked.

                 “Sitting here alone is could be making it worse. If you feel like you can, maybe should try to do something. Anything but sit here. If you want we can still go out and do something today. Of course, you don't have to."

                 Robbie turned to look at Sportacus. Maybe he was right. "Alright," he decided, "Thanks."

                 “Great.” Sportacus smiled, “Get your jacket. It’s cold outside.” He helped the other man up and they headed out to find something, anything else, to do. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Find out what happens to Robbie’s sewing machine and if Robbie will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness again Dx it’s been a busy break and to be honest I had trouble having to come up with a way to end it. Also happy new year! This may be my last sportarobbie fic at least for a while. I do have one more idea but not sure if I’m gonna use it or not. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one.

                     Robbie and Sportacus walked around for a while, trying to find something to do at a nearby mall. It was hard to find something interesting to Robbie that wasn’t clothing-related.

               He ended up buying a cupcake at a store that was selling sweets and sitting down at a bench in the middle of their search.

               Sportacus sighed and sat next to him. He was getting increasingly worried about how much this could get Robbie down if they figured out that the sewing machine couldn’t be fixed.

               Robbie was staring into his own lap. His expression was hard to read from where Sportacus sat. There was really only so much Sportacus could do or tell Robbie to make him feel better though, so he just sat next to him quietly. He kept trying to think of things to say but they just didn’t seem like they would help, and might instead remind Robbie of the whole incident.  
-

               To Sportacus’ surprise, Robbie got up after a little while and began to walk towards one of the shops with clothing. He tossed the cupcake wrapper in a trash can along the way, not looking back as Sportacus followed. It seemed as though something had caught his eye.

               “Robbie?” Sportacus asked. “Are you Okay looking at clothes now?”

               “Yeah,” Robbie said as they entered the store. He turned around. “I’ll be fine. Clothing is one of the things that makes me happy. I shouldn’t have to avoid it. And even if the sewing machine is broken and needs to be replaced, I know I won’t stop working on it.” He looked at some of the patterned fabric of a particularly eye catching dress. “I may be upset for a while but... it will be okay. I’ll be okay.”  
-

               It was right when they were about to enter the store that Robbie’s phone rang, causing both of them to jump a little bit. Robbie quickly looked at the screen before picking up. He walked out of the store and began to speak.

               “Hello? Yes. Yeah. Oh. Oh! Oh really? That’s nice. Did they say anything about the other parts?” He took a while to finally hang up, and when he did he let out a big sigh.

                “Uh- Who was it?” Sportacus asked, coming out of the store a little worried. “Is everything okay?”

                 “It was Glanni.” Robbie said with a small, reassuring smile. “The sewing machine is going to be alright after all. It doesn’t sound like they need to replace anything either unless you count changing the needle which you have to do every so often anyway.”

                  “Oh, that’s great! So it was a good sigh then?” Sportacus smiled and squeezed Robbie’s hand. He was really relieved too.

                  “Yeah.” Robbie squeezed Sportacus’ hand back and chuckled lightly. “It was also a tired sigh though. I’m really exhausted from all that stress and worrying.”

                  Sportacus nodded understandingly and patted his back. They then went back in and looked at some dresses for a short amount of time and began to head back home. Robbie was so tired. He couldn’t wait to sleep again.

                 Holding his boyfriend’s hand, he knew that something upsetting like this may happen again and that Sportacus or his cousin or anybody else couldn’t just magically make it go away. But he was glad to have another person to be with him if he ever felt down, and he felt like Sportacus helped make him a stronger person.


End file.
